How to serve Sencha

Two important characteristics of good quality Sencha are bit of bitterness in its rich taste and pleasant lasting aftertaste. Gyokuro, Sencha, Bancha, and Houjicha are all famous Japanese tea. They all contains tannin ( Catechins ), caffeine and amid acid. And for the taste of Sencha, the balance of bitterness of tannin and taste of amino acid is very important. Fine Gyokuko or high-grade Sencha contain more amino acid. Thus, their taste is more rich. The daily drinking tea as Bancha or Hojicha contains less amino acid, so there is no rich taste when you drink, but have a pleasant lasting aftertaste. Thereupon, to brew high-grade Sencha, it is important to use about 70 degrees Celsius water. This prevents resolving tannin which makes tea bitter, and also help resolving more amino acid for more rich taste. Also, it is recommended to use extra amount of leaves and wait for 2 minutes to make tea thicker. Serve each person about 50ml tea. For standard-grade sencha, use 90 degrees Celsius hot water for brewing, so that help resolving tannin into the tea. Use less amount of tea leaves and brew tea for 1 minute. Serve each person about 80ml tea.

(Muneyuki Nakagawa)